When we were first designing our home, we tried to be super intentional about which areas of our home that we splurged on and which parts we could be a bit more frugal. One of the ways we saved money in our kitchen was by opting for faux marble countertops instead of authentic marble.
I’ve always dreamed of having marble kitchen countertops. When I saw how much they would cost us in our kitchen….our game plan changed a bit. We looked into doing concrete countertops because I love the look, but after hearing horror stories from multiple people we opted out of that fairly quickly.
We decided to save some money (since we are newlyweds, after all) by going with laminate countertops. I love the low maintenance and durability of laminate. There’s no need to worry about scratches, cracks or stains. At this stage of our lives it’s the most practical!
Knowing that we were going this route, I wanted to be smart about choosing a laminate that would look nice and not cheap. I’m so glad I did a bit of research before ordering our countertops so that they didn’t end up being something I would regret in a few years.
To achieve the faux marble countertops look, I found a beautiful laminate by Wilsonart that I loved immediately. For our kitchen, we went with the “Wilsonart White Carrara with Standard Fine Velvet Texture Finish“. I can’t speak enough about how important the finish was in making it look like the real deal! The velvet finish doesn’t reflect the light quite as much as other laminate options. I’m so happy with the outcome.
We opted out of an attached laminate backsplash. We’re hoping to add a custom tile backsplash soon! I think this little detail made all the difference in giving the illusion of a slab of expensive marble as opposed to the cheaper stuff. If you go this route, be super careful when it comes to water/spills. We have been living a bit on the edge in the transition period since we run the risk of getting moisture on our drywall/down our cabinets.
The biggest/best decision we made when it came to our countertops: The custom edge. I think this is the biggest reason why our countertops look like such high quality. We went with a crescent edge on every side of our countertops and I’m so happy we did. This edge doesn’t allow any “seams” to show. We don’t have those dark black lines running down the center of our countertops and it really was worth every penny!
Overall, our faux marble countertops cost us about a fourth of the price of marble. We haven’t had any issues with themthus far. While there are definitely areas of your home that I wouldn’t recommend skimping on, I think countertops can be done beautifully and tastefully. We have no regrets going this route in our home! I hope this post was helpful if you’re looking to update your kitchen on a budget. (Below, I have attached photos with no editing to show a true representation of the color/look of these countertops)
To see more details on our kitchen space, check out these blog posts:
– Farmhouse Kitchen Hardware : Faucet, Knobs, and Pulls
– Kitchen Bar Corbels and Shiplap
– Geometric Kitchen Rug
They look beautiful!…never would have guessed that it’s laminate!
Thank you so much! That was the goal 🙂
I LOVE your counters! We are in the beginning stages of remodeling our kitchen. Where did you get the counters from? I’ve spoken to a local supplier and while they can get same brand and type of counter, they can’t get the crescent edge for some reason?! Also, strange question . . . are your cabinets wood or laminate faced? Lol. So many decisions!
Great idea adding unedited photos for a more accurate colour of the counter! I am also interested in knowing where you bought your upper cabinet knobs?
Hi Christina! I have a blog post about our kitchen hardware (knobs included!
Here is the link : https://sarahjaneinteriors.blog/farmhouse-kitchen-hardware-faucet-knobs-and-pulls/
All sources/links for products are at the bottom of the blog post. I hope this helps!
I love the kitchen. What is the paint color on the walls?
Thank you! It is “Mission White” by Behr
Beautiful kitchen! What color are your cabinets?
Hi Kari! Our kitchen cabinets came pre-painted so I’m not positive on the paint color. I’m sorry!
Beautiful! And the edge was a great choice.
What did the cost per sf end up being, if you don’t mind me asking?
I’m sorry, I can’t remember cost per sf!
This is very helpful, your kitchen looks so modern and beautiful!
If you don’t mind me asking- how did you make the crescent edge?
Thank you, Sue! The company who made our countertops created the crescent edge for us 🙂
Was this a local company you used? We are picking counter tops now for our new build and I love this edge!!
Hi Emily! Yes we went through a local company. Wilson Art has lots of distributors around the US so a good way to find one near you would be to check out there website. I hope this helps 🙂
Hi there! Can you please share your hardware details
Hi Katie! They are all linked on this post:
https://sarahjaneinteriors.blog/farmhouse-kitchen-hardware-faucet-knobs-and-pulls/
Hope this helps 🙂
In the unedited photos, I see more grey striations. I was looking at the same countertops but have a lot of brown/taupe undertones. Do you think the countertops would still work?
I think so! Totally personal preference though. The warmth of the brown/taupe may work well with cool tones of the countertops 🙂
Beautiful kitchen! You have very nice taste! I wanted to thank you for including all of the details about your countertops. Your’s turned out perfectly! Although this post was about 5 years ago, your choices are timeless and will be relevant for ages! I am not in an area where expensive countertops will give me a larger price range when I sell and I love the ease of maintenance laminate offers. Now, due to your research and design ideas, laminate can be that countertop that puts the check mark in all of the boxes under “must be”. Thank you so much and I am hoping that when done, my kitchen will be as beautiful as yours!
Thank you so much for this comment & your kind words – I am so glad you found this post helpful!!
Love it! What color would you say your cabniets are? White, off white or ivory? Hard to tell as each picture looks diff..also do you see more netural or gray color in counter top as a whole? Thanks for your help. I hate desisions..
Hi Kendra, thank you! Our cabinets are a true white. The countertops have more gray color as a whole but I know you can order samples of it before purchasing if that helps. Best of luck!
Love your kitchen! Where did you get your sink??
Thank you! I have a blog post with all of the info on our kitchen sink. Here is the link 🙂
https://sarahjanechristy.com/ikea-farmhouse-kitchen-sink/
Thank you for posting this as we’re going through the same process for our counters. Can I ask if you had to have seams? The fabricator is having an issue with an awkward corner and we may have to have a seam. I’d like to know how much we can hide it…
Thank you!
We have one seam in our kitchen! It is not super noticeable (at least to me) but I do think the less seams, the better. We are very happy with our countertops, regardless 🙂 Best of luck!
Hi,
I’m curious how they are holding up in terms of the velvet finish with scratches, etc.
Thanks!
Still holding up great almost three years later 🙂
I am so glad I found your blog. I just ordered these countertops and I was a little worried. I think the edges you chose make it look more like marble as well. May I ask what paint color is on your wall? I am having a difficult time choosing a white. Thanks so much.
Sure! It is Behr paint in the color Mission White
Where is your rug from?
Here is a post all about it!
https://sarahjanechristy.com/geometric-kitchen-rug/
Looks great! What’s the brand of your sink??
Here is a blog post all about it 🙂
https://sarahjanechristy.com/ikea-farmhouse-kitchen-sink/
I am trying to decide on the finish of the Wilsonart “marble” laminate countertops we’ll be putting in our lake house we’re building. I was leaning towards the “fine velvet finish,” so I’m so glad you included your choice and that you’re happy with your decision. They really do look beautiful, thanks for sharing!
Absolutely! I am so happy that you found it helpful. Best of luck with your lake house!
I am looking at this same countertop but I HATE mitered corners on laminate. Yours doesn’t look like it has a mitered corner did your fabricators build your countertops without a mitered corner or does it blend so well its not that noticeable. I found a fabricator to build mine but it’s going to cost $500 more. So if yours is mitered and not very noticeable maybe I can live with it and save $500
We have one seam on our countertop but no mitered corners! It depends on your kitchen layout but we were able to get away with only one seam. It doesn’t bother me too badly but is definitely personal preference 🙂
I love your kitchen!! Can you tell me what colour is your floor?
Thank you! Here is a post all about them:
https://sarahjanechristy.com/pergo-flooring-faqs-a-one-year-review/
Hi , your kitchen looks great! We are thinking about these countertops in our kitchen. We painted our existing cabinets Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. Which looks similar to the color of your cabinets. I am just concerned about your unedited photos too. They look a lot more gray there and our color scheme is more on the warm beige side. Our the countertops more white than gray? Thanks 🙂
They are more white than gray, yes! I know you are able to get samples of this countertop before placing a large order so maybe that will help in your decision-making. Hope this helps & best of luck 🙂
Thanks 🙂
Love these counters!! Also where did you get your sink??
Thank you! Here’s a blog post all about our sink 🙂
https://sarahjanechristy.com/ikea-farmhouse-kitchen-sink/
Thank you! Your countertops look just the way I hope mine will. I want to add: consider mirror for your future backsplash. Zero upkeep and doubles the size of my small but light NYC kitchen.
That’s a great idea, thank you for sharing!!
Hello! Since you have been living with this countertop for 2 years now, can you tell us what your experience has been with spills of scary stuff like red wine or spaghetti sauce, etc.? We are in the process of deciding on a marble look laminate for our kitchen also. Thank you!
Sure! I’m happy to report that have had no issues with staining 🙂 Still very happy with this choice. I hope this helps in your decision making
Love it!! What color are your walls and cabinets?
Walls are Mission White – Behr. Cabinets came preprinted so I’m unsure on the color of those!
I’m curious if you’ve decided on your backsplash? I’m trying to decide what counter to go with. I first thought I’d like Calcutta marble buy I don’t care for all the veining. I want some gray but just not a lot. So this does have some gray? Would a light gray glass tile backsplash look nice?
I haven’t decided yet! I think a light gray tile would be beautiful. The counters do have some gray so that would pull out the color nicely 🙂
Did you ever put a backsplash up? If so what did you use?
We are hoping to tackle that in the Spring!
Hello! Can you please tell me where you got those clear glass canisters with the metal lids? I love them!
Hi Tonya! I found those at Magnolia Market (online website). Joanna Gaines’ store 🙂
I love your kitchen and the counters look great! Where did you buy your cabinets from/what style are they?
They are shaker style cabinet by Wolf Home Products
Beautiful kitchen! Where did you get the cabinets from & what style are they?
They are shaker style cabinets by Wolf Home Products
Looks great. Where did you find that rug?
Thank you! Anthropologie
Hello! So, I we have had these counters for about a year (Thanks to you for inspiring me to get them and all your helpful information about them) I absolutely love them but, I do have a question though. Have you had to fill in any areas on the cresent edge / have you lost any of the filler color? Over time I have noticed some of the grout on the edge to disappear. Just looking to see if it’s common or I should contact our installer.
Thank You!
Hi there! Happy to help. We have had some slight loss of filler on the top seam on our countertop. I haven’t done anything to correct this yet but I know they make laminate seam filler that can be used!
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your beautiful kitchen and especially for sharing the great advice! I hope that you don’t mind but I plan to copy your countertops exactly right down to the Cresent edge and the fine velvet texture lol. I too want a beautiful kitchen that I can be proud of but won’t send me to the poor house! Thank you so much!
Absolutely! I’m so happy I was able to help. We’re super happy with this decision & our wallets were too 🙂
Thank you for this beautiful, to the point blog on your countertops. I’m going this direction too and you help answer my questions!
Happy to help!
Hi – I love the look! We are thinking about the white carrara too! In your unedited pics it looks very grey – do you think they are grey or more white? Also, did you think about the undermount sink option?
I would say more gray – there is a distinct difference in our white cabinets & the countertops. I love an under-mount option but couldn’t find one that would safely be able to be secured to laminate.
Thank you for this great article. I am leaning g toward this color. i am going to have a travertibe type tile backsplash, and am concerned that the countertop will have too much grey in it. It is hard to get an idea of the true color with such small samples. Any thought would be appreciated! Thank you!
It’s a good mixture of white and grey. The countertop leans more grey in my opinion
Hello! love your kitchen and your countertops! we are getting ready to build this year and most likely going to choose laminate as well. I love your kitchen sink! May I ask what brand it is?
Thanks for any help!
Cindy
Sure, it is from IKEA
thanks for the info on the countertops, i purchased the same thing, they were installed last week; and your right , its beautiful. I struggled with
finding a countertop color and so glad you had this on your site. The color is great and love it..
I’m so happy you found this post helpful. Thank you for this comment & enjoy the new countertops!
Can you tell me what color of paint you used on your cabinets. I’ve been
Looking at a Benjamin Moore white paint chart. There are too many whites
I put the same countertop in and like it but not sure if cabinets
Love your kitchen and trying to use yours as a guide for mine
Thanks for reading my email
how have they held up? we are looking to update our 1970s kitchen and definitely can’t afford anything other than laminate.
great! no regrets, 5 years later
Hello! I have shown your blog to our countertop people and said “I want exactly this!” Lol. It’s beautiful and I am so very thankful for your super helpful blog!
My only question is, they are suggesting I clip or mitre the corners at the end of our peninsula and raised bar area. But I HATE the way it looks. They are recommending it because of our kids and the sharp ends. Do you feel like the corner points are that sharp? To me they don’t look like it on your photos?? Have you had issues with catching the edge of the corners?
Thank you!!
I have never had an issue with the corners or thought them to be “sharp”. I wouldn’t have even thought about it until you mentioned it. I have no regrets in our countertops and the edges how they are!
Love your kitchen! We are thinking to go with this same countertop. How much was it for the crescent edge? Where is your sink and faucet from?
I am unsure on exact cost but the sink is from IKEA and faucet from Amazon. Both sources can be found on these posts:
https://sarahjanechristy.com/ikea-farmhouse-kitchen-sink/
https://sarahjanechristy.com/farmhouse-kitchen-hardware-faucet-knobs-and-pulls/
Hi, please where is your black faucet from!? Thank you.
It’s from Amazon!
I love what you chose, great article, it really helped me choose! What colour of paint did you use?
Thank you! Shown here is “Mission White” by Behr
Does the white carrera automatically come with that velvet finish?
I believe so, yes.